I spent five hours on a bus today. During that time, I watched two movies, one on my Creative Zen Vision M 30 gig player, and one on my Nokia N810. Here are my impressions:

Creative Zen Vision M 30 gigabyte

I watched A River Runs Through It on the Creative device. I expected to have difficulty watching a movie on such a small screen, and was pleasantly surprised with the experience. The colors are clear and vibrant, and I had no difficulty keeping up with the action. I turned the brightness up to 100%, but probably could have been comfortable with less.

After I got home, I turned the movie back on and left the player running to see how far it would get before the battery died. Including the time on the bus, it played for just over 3 hours before switching off.

What is it?

Have you ever shared your notes with a classmate, or copied someone else’s notes after missing class? What if you could get paid for doing just that? If that appeals to you, check out Knetwit, a knowledge-sharing site with a really cool twist.

How does it work?

Here’s how it works: you upload your class notes and study guides to the site, where they can be accessed and downloaded by other users. You earn points, called “Koin” for uploading notes, referring friends who join, and every time someone downloads your notes. Koin can be redeemed at the Knetwit Store for cash or merchandise including iPods, game consoles and TV’s. You also receive “knowledge points” and “community points” which indicate your standing and credibility, and affect how many Koin you earn for each action.

As a student, I have to take a lot of notes. I’m a fairly fast typist, and I frequently get impatient when I have to write things by hand. Some of my classmates bring laptops to school, but I am reluctant to carry that much weight around or put such a valuable item at risk of loss, damage, or theft.

I recently purchased a Belkin F8U1500 Wireless PDA Keyboard from an Amazon retailer to use with my Toshiba e330 Pocket PC. I used it last month to take notes during a four-day seminar, and was very pleased. Some of the presenters spoke way too fast for anyone to take good handwritten notes, but I easily kept up with them.